Heaven Help Me
by hotaru4
Summary: A/U K&K: Inside Kenshin, two souls battle to take over his ultimate destiny. Angel/rei-sharu Kaoru was sent to find him and she did. But can she still save the selfish, spoiled brat that he is or will he bend her to his desires? Let the battle begin.
1. Default Chapter

Heaven Help Me 

by Hotaru

**Disclaimer:**  This sessha doesn't own RRK and doesn't deserve to do so.

**Warning:**  Little lemons in later chapters, but as for this one, hell, it's as safe as safe can be.  Unless, religion is for you a sensitive issue—well, go to another fic if that's the case.

**Also:**  This fic's gonna be full of OOC stuff.  Go figure if it works for you, but please don't flame me if it doesn't!!!

To my reviewers, be a little kind.  Every fic is hard work, even if it's just for fun that we writers write.  I'm losing sleep writing my fics, so maybe a KIND word or two from you is not so much to ask.  If you wanna flame me, do it nicely.  I've got a heart too, you know (which I can't say much for **Stray**, who never signed his review and called me ZERO.  Hey, I like to see you write YOUR fic down for once!!!)  Hope other fic writers NEVER hear the likes of you!!!  I love all the writers here, and I think every effort should be appreciated.  And if you don't have anything nice/constructive to say, well better not say it!!!

Of course you can beg to disagree…

Hell, I'm not angry!!!

Kenshin:  Yes, you are.  You're griping!!!

Hotaru:  No I'm not!!!

Kenshin:  Yes you are!!!

Hotaru:  I just need to cool off…GRRRR….

Kenshin:  If you want **Stray **out, I can deal with him/her….

Hotaru:  How???

Kenshin:  Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Tsui Sen!!!!

Hotaru:  (Looks at Stray's mangled body)  I didn't mean it THAT way.

Kenshin:  Don't worry, Hotaru-dono… I used my sakaba (reversed-edge) sword…ORO!!!

Hotaru:  Whaaatttt?????

Kenshin:  This is not sessha's sakaba sword… This is Saitou's…

Hotaru:  GEEEZZZZ, Kenshin no baka!!!!!

Kenshin:  ^_^ (sweatdrops)

**Chapter 1**:  Day ONE

**Angel-Rei Kaoru****:**

Whoever said that great stories have great beginnings? Maybe I'm not really a writer, so I can't say much about that, but I'd like to think that beginnings are just that—beginnings that leave a distinct impression, but nothing more.  At least that's what I felt when I first met my sesshawaru—ooops, sorry, the word means something like 'soul client', not a good translation of angel tongue, I know, but it's the closest I can think of, in English.  

Anyway, you might ask, who's this sesshawaru and what's he got to do with my story?  The story of my first mission on Earth?  The answer is A LOT.  Because this is not about me, but about him… the guy I was supposed to save from his ultimate destiny….

It all happened one spring day.  It's actually spring all year round in heaven, so it's quite pointless to say it happened in any particular spring day.  Nevertheless, for those who've never seen heaven, well, just picture the mountainous landscape of New Zealand under a clear blue sky, and imagine eternal springtime there.  That's heaven—at least from my point of view back then.  Imagine me seated under a tree, a book in hand, trying to write—no—imitate poetry—trying because it's one of those skills I've never really been good at.  Hey, even angels take lessons you know—which also means we also get Fs!!!  In my school in particular, the Muses make it a point to be extra hard on the rei-sharu (my level, fourth level, actually, since there are four grade levels that all angels must pass before they are sent on their first mission to earth) which is quite understandable, because it's our last year before we enter the ever-so-anticipated post-graduate practicum level, receive our assignments and get sent God-knows-where.  I was about to graduate that same week, but Muse Hikaru told me that I should really work hard on my 'Arts' subject, since I can really use a lot of it in the future.  Of course, I didn't take her word for it—I mean, do we, really take our sensei seriously ALL the time???  Nevertheless, I'm NOT that stubborn, and I do want to graduate on time, so I  proceeded to write poetry even if it kills me…which I know it won't (because angels can't die???  I was going to change my opinion of that, but later!!!) ^_^

Anyway, since graduation isn't until next week, I was taking my sweet time about writing those poems, which is why I was kinda surprised when Linorfus, my penguin messenger walked up to me with a letter of summons from Akari-dono, my sensei.  A letter of summons is NOT to be taken lightly, so using my pendant telepod—which by the way resembled what I saw once in that nice cartoon, DragonBall, where they use small capsules, rather than crystals like mine—I rushed back to Satoru Castle to see what the summons was about.

When I got there, everybody else was there—well, almost everybody from my school actually, which in translation is called Blue Rose College.  Why Blue Rose?  It's what Earth is referred to, in angel tongue, and I think you guys would understand why.  Also, schools here are classified according to various destination points in the cosmos—and I happened to choose Earth, which explains my college.  Anyway, that day was the beginning of everything.  And that beginning will always be memorable, because it was how I got to meet my sesshawaru a little prematurely.  To say the least, I missed graduation, and didn't take that post-graduate practicum course I mentioned earlier.  No.  Because the next day, I found myself floating towards Earth, to meet the guy who will change my life… 

            That is where the story really begins… 


	2. Day TWO

Heaven Help Me 

By Hotaru 

**Disclaimer:  **RRK is not mine, and I don't deserve to own such magnificence, so please leave sessha alone and let him/her do some writing to keep his/her sanity…

**Warning:    **No lemons yet—and I doubt if there'd be any.  Rating is GENERAL so far.  

**Also:  **Hotarulives a very hard live, with writing as his/her ONLY hobby.  Please be good to me.  If you think I should go kill myself, do say it nicely.  It matters to me a lot.  ** And about my other fic, "Depend On You," actually, I'm writing this fic to take my depression off THAT other one.  It's still my favorite, and maybe until I get Stray's comment off my system, I won't be updating it for a while.  Chap. 7 may be up next week though, but I can't update it every other day as I originally planned…**For the readers and reviewers of "Depend On You," please bear with me for a while…I'm just really depressed…and even my girl/boyfriend finds it impossible cheering me up these days… 

ButI do hope Stray is happy… coz he/she won't be seeing my fic for a while…      

**Chapter 2:**  Day TWO

With all the running I had to do to survive the traffic in Tokyo, I was grateful that my luggage was still intact when I got to the agency Akari-dono sent my papers to.  Don't ask me what those papers say, or what they're even about because I was totally clueless.  All I know was the lady with big, triangular specs, and squarish jaw punched a few numbers on the phone when I said who I was, then an hour later, a black limo picked me up.  It was the longest one I've seen—and the shiniest one too, among all those four-wheeler things that almost ran me over on my way to the agency.  I wasn't about to complain in fact, even if the color was black—I hate black, not that it was something personal.  Black is just NOT the color you'd EVER find in heaven, to say the least (even my hair color is platinum blue before I went to earth).  But anyway, as I said, I wasn't supposed to complain, since complaining, together with all other forms of verbal abuse is a NO-NO in the yellow manual Akari-dono stashed in my coat pocket before literally pushing me over and off a "cloud-cycle" on its way to earth.    Needless to say, violating a rule in the yellow manual is, of course, NOT as bad as violating a RED one, but still, I don't want to get into serious trouble with my superiors in Blue Rose College for violating a stupid yellow rule.

So I stood there, grinning stupidly like all foreigners do on their first day, when the limo doors clicked open and at least three men, all wearing black suits, stepped out, offering to take my luggage and things.  One even carried a black, rectangular thingy that hummed when he nudged my handbag with it.  I smiled and nodded as the man dumped the contents into a transparent plastic bag, to stare at the stupid objects Akari-dono put in there.  Well, so much for privacy.  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught something wrapped in a pink, flowery material.  It was sealed, so the guy had to ask me if he can open it for inspection.

Gritting my teeth, I gave him my sweet permission, thinking all the while, _Damn stupid yellow rules!!!!_

I didn't voice my complaint, but I was later to know that even intentions count.

_Gods!!!_

Did I just say that in plural?  Anyway, I was lost in my thoughts, taking in the scene when something which looked like a doll with lots of red hair tumbling out over amethyst eyes popped out of the window of the car and glared at the men in black.       

"What's taking you SO long, Saitou???  You know that I've got a soccer game to run to, NOW!!!!"

The man he called Saitou—without the honorific, mind you, though the man was more than twice his age—glared at him, his quiet eyes shifting from the bag, to me, then to the source of the whining voice.

"Disposable panties…nothing much."

I don't know THAT much about the world yet, but I DO know what panties are supposed to mean, since I've studied English and all the earth languages in Blue Rose College and got good grades too, so I didn't much appreciate this Saitou's straight remark, and would have punched him there and then, angel or no angel, if the whining voice didn't interrupt my thoughts for the second time.

"Heck, to be honest about it, I've got MORE interesting things in my fan collection that can make any lesser man squirm, so get your ass in here and get us going!!!  I don't wanna be late for MY soccer game!!!"

"Alright, I heard you.  You can climb in now miss—"

I stared at him when he stopped mid-way, looking like he choked on something.

It was then that I realized the norm for social introductions.  But the whiner beat me to it.

"Gods, didn't you get enough education to know how to say your name at least???  Or do you intend to keep us here for another hour trying to even remember on what goddamn planet you are???"

Now, THAT is just way TOO much.  He could've gotten away with the insult but NOT with the cuss word.  Just one look at the guy and I was sure I'm NOT gonna regret leaving HIM to the bottom of the bottomless pits of hell!  I mean, NO angel yet exists to make this one's redemption possible, with that kind of attitude!!!   I may be overreacting at that time, but it was a day I've resolved to make the twerp's f----ing –ss pay!!!

Huh, as if I don't need help curbing MY own behavior!!!  But of course, I'd worry my little head about that later…

"SO???" his voice was edgy, and he was tight-lipped, like he wanted to hit me, and could have actually done so if I were a guy.

Tough luck!  But even I hate torture, so I opened my mouth to blurt the words out.

"Kaoru."

"Well then Kao get your ass moving already before I curse all the gods out there for making me miss my soccer game!!!"

Once again, I gritted my teeth, and speechlessly obeyed.  If this guy is going to talk like this the entire time I'd be an expert cow-angel.  I mean, because of the initial teeth-gritting, I had to find an alternative, like chewing gum, to fight all the stress he's making me put up with…

Plus the rhyme of course…Kao-cow…

THAT ain't funny.

One fact remains though.  The life of an angel ain't heaven on earth, that's for sure… 

. . . . . . . . . .

Since I had to sit at the back, I didn't really get to observe in detail this doll-looking young man who had been whining just about five minutes ago.  In truth, he didn't really seem all that effeminate.  His voice, when he wasn't whining, is confident, cocky but commanding, the imperatives flying and wheezing past me as he gave his orders—no snapped orders like an Emperor.  Some very old emperors in human history are even nicer than this boy, I would know, having heard about it from my own sensei…Which is why it makes me wonder to no end what crap this boy got into his head, that got him thinking he had a right to be superior.  I would have said that straight out, but thought about it, and revised my phrasing a bit so as not to hurt his ego THAT much.

He turned around then, a complete 90 degree turn, then glared daggers at me.

I didn't even blink.  Who does he think he is, intimidating me like that?  God?

When he realized that his glaring wasn't doing miracles to make me change my mind, he turned again in his seat, and looked at me from an overhead mirror.

"Nice legs…do you shave it everyday?"

"W--what did you just say?"  I stammered, too confused to hide my surprise.

He snickered, gloating at my defeat—even if it was kind of petty, really.  "Wish my uncle got someone older though—more, shall we say, 'experienced'???"

Even the men in black suits started leering at me, their grins cocky.

I turned away, looking at the scenery outside the window instead.

"Oh, and by the way, Kaoru, since you're going to be my personal maid, you will stay in the room right across mine.  Now that I've seen you, I'm glad I've made that arrangement."

I couldn't believe what I've just heard, so it took me a while to respond.  "P-personal maid???  Who EVER told you I'm going to be your personal maid, Mr—"

"Himura.  But just call me Kenshin.  Ken, if you feel intimate, but I wouldn't recommend it in front of the girls.  They get pretty jealous about anything…even if it's just a maid…"

I turned red. Scarlet. Vermillion.  No, I actually invented a whole range of non-existent reds trying to swallow the full meaning of what the twerp had just said.

Me???  This angel a maid???  So, maybe I lacked credits because I didn't get to graduate as a rei-sharu, like I'm supposed to.  Maybe I lacked experience because I didn't even get to enroll in a post-graduate practicum course for Guardianship.  Maybe I'm a complete klutz because I'm sitting in a stupid black limo, with at least half a dozen men in black, which is like so un-heaven, if you ask me!!!  But did that make me deserving to be humiliated like this?  Maid or no maid, I wouldn't let this damned soul insult me any longer!!!!

He threw me a glance over his shoulder, and cocked a grin.

And he even thinks he's cute!!!  I'll let him rot in HELL for that!!!

He laughed this time, almost making me lose my balance.

"Look, Kaoru, if it bothers you that much, you can stay in MY room.  That was the original plan after all…"

I fumed, I snarled—mentally at least—and almost burned my eardrums letting off steam.  But after a few seconds, I realized that he ain't the only one smart around here.  So I leaned over his shoulder—not very close really, since THAT would be violating a red rule—and smiled, making sure he can see me in the overhead mirror that, only now, I realized, was intentionally lowered to give the front seaters a good look of anyone's legs in the back seat.

His expression was quizzical.

My stomach danced.  Hah!!!  He even leaned a bit closer, his nape almost touching my nose.

"Don't you worry, Master Himura," I told him, whispering only so coolly, to keep whatever I was going to say just between us.  "Demo… I've just had shots for rabies on my way here, so it would be pointless to bite.  Your poison won't sink in, you see???"

I didn't wait for him to say anything back.  I leaned back on my seat and turned to the scenery outside the window, trying to ignore him the whole time.  I was to learn only later after that, that he hung on to every word I said, making sure that he's got enough venom to make any antidote shy of a cure…               


	3. Day TWOPart II

Heaven Help Me 

**By Hotaru**

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own RRK.  Watsuki and Sony shouldn't sue this poor sessha who gets nothing but harmless fun from torturing Kenshin and Kaoru.

**Warning:**  PG, but no lemons here yet.  Please bear with the slowness of the story.  I always take my time about these things.

**Also:**  I haven't read the reviews yet, but if you've reviewed the previous chapters, a lot of thanks.  I promise to include specifics in the next update to properly thank all you good people.

Kenshin:  Yare, yare, arigatou Hotaru-dono, for making sessha so happy!!!

Hotaru: ^_^

***Stray**:  Hah!!! Another stupid fic?  Don't you ever give up?  Haven't I told you already that you've got ZERO talent, ZERO originality, and your style sucks???  What do I have to say to keep you out of Fanfiction.net for good????  

Hotaru:  ^_^

Kaoru:  Do you want me to take care of him this time, Hotaru-san???  I most definitely would relish the pleasure of beating some kindness into that dense skull of his…

Hotaru:  Demo…I shall not allow you to taint your hands with such filth…

Kenshin:  Can I have the honor then, Hotaru-dono???

Hotaru:  Just be easy on him this time, onegai???

Kenshin:  (Bringing out a feather)  Tickle time!!!!

***Stray**:  Ha ha ha!!!!  Yamete, yamete!!!! (doubles over with laughter)  

Hotaru:  Sessha also keeps his non-killing oath!!!  ^_^ 

***Stray** is an "anonymous" reviewer out there, saying a lot of crappy bad shit stuff that s/he doesn't care to back up.  Beware!!!!

**Chapter 3:**  Day TWO/Part II

**Sesshawaru Kenshin**:

So what if the girl's got good looks?  So what if her deep blue sapphire eyes were unnervingly beautiful--awesome—and if I may say so, hormone stimulating?  I was not about to play games with a maid, a maid with an attitude at that, and I figured when she told me about having rabies shots, well, I must have looked like someone who'd be ready to swallow her alive, and I'm just not like that.  I'm not THAT kind of guy.  Surely, I have better taste than to go after a low-class, snotty teenager, even if she had the most beautiful eyes…

And not to mention legs.  Did I mention legs before?  They're divine, and if not for that smart-ass comment of hers about my poisonous tongue, I'd have been obliged to be kinder to her.  More charming.  Not that I ever thought I lacked charms at that time, after making a big fuss about MY soccer game.

Yes, I just happened to be the star player of the soccer team of Tokyo High.  My team mates include the great Zen master (read:  I am holier-than-thou you worthless insect) Shinomori Aoishi, Mr. Martial Arts man himself Sagara Sanosuke, and the unbeatable "Flash", Seta Soujiro.  They call us the Untouchable Foursome, and together, we're invincible.

Invincible, huh, but kinda cliché, right?  But what do you expect of a guy who's turning twenty and in his second year of college?  My self-esteem's definitely soaring, and knowing that I'm not only the hottest, coolest guy around, but also the most financially "endowed" with my family being major investors and stockholders in all the major companies in Japan—hell, even the university itself—I have no qualms rubbing in all my good qualities to the adoring public.  Especially to women.  My girlfriend, Takani Megumi, for example, is one hot chick to beat.  Not only is she a drop-dead gorgeous model who poses for Victoria's Secret—she's also one hell of a tennis athlete, a cheerleader, and hell, a beauty queen Tokyo Campus is proud to have.  Having her around is like waving a trophy that says "I've got something you guys don't which keeps her wanting for more" sort of label.  And I wasn't ashamed of that either, for it's the truth.

Almost, at least.

So won't you forgive me if I treat some smart ass snotty "I'm pure as a driven snow" kinda girl like dirt?

Probably you won't… but you'd understand, I hope.

Anyway, her determination to ignore me after that astute comment only boosted my desire to make her notice me.  Reverse-psychology you might say, like I believe that crap but it works like hell!!!  I squinted at the buildings passing by like a big gray blur outside my window, but couldn't help glancing at her every few seconds.  Gods, how can this girl be SO unnerving?  Who does she think she is?  A drop-dead divine goddess sent from heaven?  Her taut chin and upturned lips didn't help to make her ugly, or monstrous, as I hoped.  You see, the moment she uttered that challenge in her oh-so-sultry voice, I was determined to hate her.  And hate her I will, until she comes crawling back to that pathetic hole where she'd come from, heartbroken, and hopeless.

Call me names, but there's nothing more I wish to the devils out there but to crush her spirit.

Yet, as the car slowed down an avenue lined by sakura trees in the peak of their bloom, I can't help but catch a flicker of a smile on her lips.

I regretted it instantly.

Why?

Because it confused me.

You still ask why?

Maybe that's the kind of question I should ask myself.

Why do I hate her so much?  Why did her words sting so much???  All my life I've ignored everyone around me, brandishing my indifference like a weapon.  So how can some stupid words mean so much to me, coming from a worthless little shit like her?    

Unfortunately, she was still smiling.  Smiling at the world around her, at the sight of that nauseatingly, picture-perfect scene spread out before us.

_Damn optimistic low-life!!! _

Releasing a breath of air harshly, I turned away from the mirror's line of vision, not because I was shy of being caught watching her, but because I don't want to lose my pride and forget how to hate her altogether…

. . . . . . . . . .

****

**Angel-rei Kaoru**: 

I really couldn't understand what's his problem.  He's got a perfect life.  Too perfect in fact, given that half the world's suffering and losing hope.  But here I am, with some filthy rich, selfish spoiled brat staring at my legs to no end, and harassing me with verbal insults!!!!  Is there justice in that???  I would have asked God right there and then, mentally dialing _her_ hotline, when I figured that, maybe, this is just a trick question in a virtual reality exam, and I'm being observed for good behavior.  THAT lessened my tension a great deal, and I've begun to sink into the limo's cushion, starting to enjoy the view, when his voice boomeranged into my head, causing me to jump with a start.

In less than three seconds, I lost all that 'feel good' resolve I've tried putting up for ten minutes, and blinked at him with a scowl, rubbing the head I hit on the ceiling when he startled me.

He was laughing like a maniac.

_Gods, I hate his guts!!!_

If he laughed a little longer, I would have made him fart all the way through his soccer game, but conscience got to me, when he looked at me seriously, his face almost kind.

I said almost kind because the moment he opened his mouth, I almost forgot my celestial vows as an angel…

"So, Kao, why don't you start doing what you're paid for???"

"Pardon me???" I asked, honestly unsure about what he meant.

"My sports bag and gear.  Since Saitou had to stick for a while until the area's secured, I will let you have the rare privilege of carrying my divine stuff into that divine building over there, as this Divine Highness also has personal matters to take care of."

Rule no. I, section 1:  Never hurt your sesshawaru unless his divine destiny requires it.

_Gods, can't I just make this one an exception???   _

He grinned at me, probably celebrating because he knew how much THAT unnerved me.  To say that I was unnerved is a gross understatement though.  I wanted to shove his socks down his throat and make him puke on it, but I guess that's just as equally gross.  Besides, if Akari-dono had sent spies to check up on me, I definitely would get a warning, which also means having to prolong my stay with this big-headed pervert.  So I just smiled at him—a forced, "I hate your guts but you'll pay for this" kind of smile—then asked in the sweetest voice I can manage.

"Oh, and anything more, my Lovely Hind-ness???"          

I don't know if it was the "lovely" or the "hindness" that got to him—for he sure looked vain, with the red dye and violet eye contacts clashing so, in my vision—but his eyes turned into slits of amber, unmasking a kind of hostility that told me, without a doubt, that I finally found the one...

The one human being in all of Earth, which held the precious balance of two lives.

In other words, this selfish, spoiled, insensitive, prissy college freak named Kenshin Himura was the man Akari-dono and all the Gods of the Heavens claimed had the power to change the Fate of us all.

Hard to believe but…

This young man with outlandish red hair, and amethyst eyes is no less than the one they call "rei-jin," the man with two souls…the one whose ultimate choice will be the choice of Destiny itself…      

In other words, he was the man who's undoing will be the undoing of all of heaven.

And with that, of all of Earth, and its universe.

How that is possible I will later explain, but I promise no logic.

Only truth.

And truth, as you will realize, can be as flawed and lawless as human nature…     

. . . . . . . . . . 

Continue?   Please submit your review!!!  Negative comments are welcome.  But please be elaborate and tell me what's wrong, if you hate it.  I ask nothing more…^_^  Domo arigatou!!!


	4. Day TWO Part III

Heaven Help Me 

By Hotaru

Disclaimer:  I don't own RRK.  But I'd do ANYTHING to be in Kenshin's shoes, even for one day.  (Geez, not the Kenshin in this fic though.  He's one bad ass college student and I just hope Kaoru gives him a beating he won't forget!!!) 

Then again, if I were Kaoru, would I have the heart to do that?

**Warning: **PG for language.  More biting and snide remarks from Kenshin.  Please don't flame him, though.  Or me.  Just bored to death here and want to torture our hero for fun.  ^_^        

Chapter 4:  Day TWO/Part III 

**Sesshawaru Kenshin:**

I let her comment slide, but that doesn't mean she's off the hook.  Consider me heartless, but I don't forgive and forget.  No.  Those two words were never in my vocabulary, and I'm no prudish moralist to say that they even matter.  I've survived this long without faith, without HIM being around when times are tough, so why would I even bother my conscience with crap like that?  No, definitely not.  The ball's in my field, and the rules of the game are just about to change…

Don't they always do?  

Already, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to make the poor little girl's life one living hell…

Yup, that's the plan.  And I'm going to enjoy every little minute of it.

A rich womanly voice greeted me from behind and I turned in time to catch a pair of long, slender arms wrap themselves around my neck, pulling me into an embrace that could have choked even a snake.

Takani has always been a little sneakish.  But it was the hug that really pisses me off.  If not for the fact that it affords me an opportunity to feel her breasts…

"Hey cutsie, what took you so long?  I've been waiting for an hour, and to think that Pierre was so mad for my sneaking out of the studio just to be here…"

There, didn't I just say she was sneakish?

"Well, actually, Miss Megumi Takani…" I drawled coolly, then grabbed her chin and pulled her into a deep kiss, pushing my tongue inside her mouth to spar with her own, grazing her teeth, her palate, before tugging her lower lip gently, a slight moan escaping her as I lingered for a few seconds, enough to make her groan a little louder.  Needless to say, that _little_ gesture left her out of breath, disheveled (since my hands also took the liberty of fingering her long locks) and as my reputation stands, panting for more.

I love it.  

The familiar chuckles were all around us, and it gave my insides a little lurch, like the sensation one gets from riding a roller coaster the first time.  I always relish those moments.  Not that Takani's a perfect kisser—I mean, I had better, and had gone even BEYOND a mere kiss—I mean, I'm a man, ain't I?  But there's always something so…so…gut satisfying about the knowledge that you can play around a person's weaknesses just like that, without her having ANY idea what power she had just so willingly surrendered.

And what that power can do if allowed to work so freely…

People sometimes can be so open, so transparent, so naïve, I guess.  And despite her wordliness, Takani is still that—naïve and easy, like the entire female race.

But that, of course, is no reason to complain.

But the real catch was not there.  When I stole a glance at the other girl's direction, I had to purse my lips and kick my butt mentally to keep myself hooting with laughter.

Gods, her face!!!  She was flushing different shades of crimson right under my nose, totally giving away her state of unnerved-ness.  How uncool of her, of course, but wasn't that what motivated me from the start?  To see her so goddamn upset and flaming and out of control about something I did, so I can push her, manipulate her, tell her I'm in control, even of her most deep-seated passions?

I have never lost, see?  But before I could completely relish my victory, somebody laid a heavy hand on my shoulder, unsettlingly deep blue eyes meeting mine.  

"What's up Aoish?" I asked casually, knowing pretty well the reason behind his frown. 

"I was supposed to ask you the same question" he replied, never too embellished in words.  "The game's gonna start in thirty minutes and Coach Katsura's not entirely happy about you being fashionably late."

"C'mon Aoish, you know he NEVER gets mad when I'm around" I snickered, taking my bag from one my attendants to toss it to the still infuriated Kaoru.

Aoish wondered at the gesture, his quiet gaze registering her every feature with as much emotion as a clam.

"Oh, don't bother helping her with my stuff," I told him, when he stepped uncertainly towards her, as if to steady her balance.  I completely forgot that the bag was the heavier of two, and that a size like hers—which is real puny, not that I'm some big muscle guy myself—will have a hard time carrying it around.  "You see," I began, flashing my widest smile, "Uncle Hiko just gifted me with a personal maid, to make my life a little bit more interesting."

Aoish didn't change his expression a hair.  Was he a clam in his previous life?  No, he couldn't be.

He must have been a rock.

He must have been a rock under the Dalai Lama's butt to deserve such good looks in THIS life, though.

I sighed.  Where was Sano when I needed him?  He would have slapped his thigh at my announcement  then laughed like a drunk in the poor critter's face.  I would like to see how she colors an even deeper red at that.

It was then that I noticed a slight movement in my arm and turned to see Takani shifting uneasily against me, her hip latched onto mine like I'm some hanger or something.  Oh well.  It was a sure sign that the woman needs my precious attention, not that women can live without it for a second.

I was more curious than interested though, when I found that she wasn't even paying the least bit attention to me.  She was looking straight at Kaoru, her irises mere pinpoints.

If those eyes were daggers, I swear she could have killed an army.

Or maybe I wasn't just reading her right.  I mean, Takani upset at the little bitch?  Why would she?  I've seen her raving jealous about other girls but… Kaoru the maid?  Hah!!!  Did somebody bonk her on the head or something?  The bitch, after all, is totally way out of my league, so how can ANY one think I would stoop so low as to even…

"How long have you been staying in Ken-san's, Miss Whatever-your-name-is?"

The poor girl looked startled at first, but she seemed smart and recovered rather quickly.  "Kaoru."

"Pardon me?" Takani pressed, giving her a cold, hard stare.

"Kamiya Kaoru.  That's my name, Miss Takani"

"Oh," she wheezed silkily, picking a strand of loose raven hair on her shoulder, before squeezing her eyes shut at the girl, only to open them with a flutter, a crooked smile on her lips.  

Takani's an expert flirt.  If there were a school for such a thing, she would have earned her PhD with flying colors.  But Takani trying to look intimidating?  I would have laughed at THAT if it wouldn't destroy the chance of my seeing the outcome of this interesting chat…

"Well then, Kamiya, I see you're good at avoiding questions," she rasped wickedly, batting her eyelashes at the girl, who was trying her best to look straight into the woman's face.  "As I was saying, how long have you known Ken-san?"           

Geez, where's the subtlety in that?  I mean, if Takani wants to know the facts, I can tell her in bed.  Does she have to ask stupid, nondescript questions to flatter a man's ego???

"We've just met.  In fact, my things are still in the car."

Then of all things, Kaoru smiled.  Like THAT was a good answer.

Sheesh…I just can't believe how simple-minded this girl is.  If I were in her place, I would've lashed at Takani and told her to mind her own business.  Not that insulting my girlfriend is a way to start a working relationship.  Don't ask me why but something about the girl's sudden helplessness makes me angry and uncomfortable… I mean, with an attitude like that, Takani'll be eating her alive…

Obviously I was right.  Takani was using me to infuriate the girl out of her innocent little wits by rubbing her well-endowed chest against mine, her thigh doing the same to my groin area, which actually, was just a little bit worse than what I did before, in terms of decency.  As if for emphasis, she even released a breathless sigh, making clear her covert message that I was her property and Kaoru better watch it!  

I shook my head.  _Women_

Takani's eyes fluttered, watching the girl amusedly as she awkwardly did her best to avoid looking at her and mine umm…intimate rubbing.  But really, I wasn't THAT bad.  I mean, no matter what a girl does, I never groaned in public.  I guess I've always prided myself for having the upper hand in THAT area.  

"That's pretty convenient Kamiya," Takani said after a while, releasing her hold on me.  "You were probably crossing the road when Ken-san just happened to pass by.  Oh, and you must be wearing a name tag too, weren't you?"

Normally, I would've found that funny, but strangely, I didn't.

Call it sadistic, but somehow, I felt jealous—like Takani's robbing me of MY exclusive right to piss Kamiya off.  She is mine after all.  A gift from Hiko.

And you don't share gifts do you?        

Despite Takani's distracting little caresses, I managed to sneak a look at the poor little bitch.  The girl seemed obviously confused at the question.  Her blue eyes narrowed slightly, staring at her sandals as if they've suddenly taken on an air of sacred profundity that was impossible to ignore. "That really isn't true, Miss Takani" she answered in a small voice, her sapphire eyes looking up a little shyly.  "You see, I was sent to this agency…"

"Agency?" Takani was bubbling with sheer joy, her eyes gloating at the horrifyingly crude honesty of that answer.  You gotta be kidding!!!  I mean, Ken-san, this one's for REAL???"

I didn't even have to answer THAT.  I mean, what's the use of words if the truth's too obvious to even talk about???   

Gods, Takani and I must've drank from the same vampire.  We're both ruthless, conniving, and always ready to pounce at anything that remotely resembles our alter-egos.  Whether that should be the reason we're together, however, eludes me…                  

I think that was the beginning of everything, if I were to answer, a couple of years from now, someone's question about how, in fact, everything happened.  As for me, I was never more disturbed that night as I was in my entire 20 years of existence.  For even in the midst of the loud roaring of fans and the commotion on the field during the game, I started to think about those things I hate about me…   

**. . . . . . . . .**

**Angel-rei Kaoru:**

If there ever was a woman created to be Kenshin Himura's equal in almost all aspects but the good, it would have been Miss Megumi Takani.

Takani-san, if I may say so, is like Himura's third soul, trapped in a woman's body—plus all the gooey make-up of course.  I mean, there doesn't seem to be a single spot on her already flawless face that hasn't been covered up with at least three layers of cosmetics.  In my honest opinion, she would've been more beautiful if she wasn't too busy trying to hide it under all that make-up…

Anyway, I know for a fact that Takani-san's unpleasant attitude towards me springs from nothing more shallow than plain, simple, jealousy.  I'm rather glad that that was the reason though, since it would give me greater reason to avoid Himura like a plague.

I mean, the guy's really infuriating.  No, devilishly infuriating.  Sometimes I wonder why of all the angels sent here on earth, I was the one to find him.

Rei-jin, I mean.  The two-souled guardian of heaven and hell.  The one who will bring the two kingdoms to war, to decide the Fates of the universe.

You know how often something of that grand proportion happens here in the cosmos?

Astronomically rare.  Like once in every one hundred fifty cycles of eternity.

How long is each cycle?  I'm sure you wouldn't want me to go into that!!! I mean, it's difficult enough explaining it in angel tongue, and more difficult in another language where no such concepts still exist.  Suffice it to say though, that the universe, as we all know it, represents the fifth cycle of this thing you call "eternity".  Since we've been taught that the universe should survive at least seven billion cycles, you can just imagine how many more cycles must be completed in an eternity's time span before the universe can be completely reborn again.  

In other words, cycles are ways of measuring when the Gods may intervene to change the Fates of Creation, for the protection of the great Cosmic Balance. 

I know that sort of thing's quite difficult to spell, whether in the language of science or religion.  That's why I said I offer no logic.

Only truth.

And behind every truth is always another question.

But as I said, I won't go deeper into that.  If Rei-jin is the one Chosen to mediate between the Gods because he bears within him the essence of balance itself—the yin and the yang, the complementary forces binding all aspects of this so-called Cosmic Order—then so be it.  Who am I to quarrel with issues of astronomical proportions???

Besides, with the soccer game being what it is, I don't have the energy to elaborate.  Sometimes I wonder what could be so interesting about a ball that just gets kicked around for two hours to no end.  People do that to other people all the time, and this game isn't even half as interesting as THAT.

Good thing I was dozing off halfway through the game.  I'd hate to see Himura's face taking it all in, the scantily-dressed cheerleaders, the screaming fans, most of all the annoying underwear-throwing that happens whenever he passes near the audience to wave or have his picture taken.

Yup, even in the middle of the game, he manages a winning smile, and keeps himself in order—not a single lock of that red hair out of place.

Or maybe looking disheveled just suits his looks even better.  I look away, not wanting him to think I mean that as a compliment. 

_The vain peacock!!!_

As I was saying, I was half dozing through the game, and probably would have done so 'til God knows when if not for the concussions I got from fans jumping up and down the benches throwing anything they can get their hands on, into the field.  Tough luck.  If I were concentrating, I would have done something more serious to keep Himura's team from winning.  But as I said, any violation of the rules of conduct for all rei-sharus would mean spending more days with_ him—_my official seshawaru from this time onwards.  

And that's the most horrible detention I can think of.

I was about to pass out from all the noise, and the smell—Gods, these people do sweat a lot!!!—when I felt someone giving my shoulder a light squeeze.  I looked up to see the most angelic smile I've ever seen in my entire life.  I was thinking of reserving that compliment to my kind, but his smile was really breath-taking.

And disturbingly unreal…

"Hi, my name's Soujiro.  Seta Soujiro, but you can simply call me Sou.  Kenshin wants you so he sent me here to guide you back to the limo."

"Oh" was all I managed to say.  If you were in my shoes, you'd probably say the O's a bit longer—something I could imagine Takani had done several times to get Himura's attention.

Now where did I get off thinking about that jerk???

Anyway, when I reached the limo, Kenshin had already changed from the sweaty blue and white uniform with "Tokyo University" written in large, black characters, to a simple black, turtleneck sweater the only embellishment of which was the long silver chain resting on it, dangling a silver pendant the shape of a Japanese katana.

I would have to give him credit for his sense of style.  It was his scent, though, that was to die for.

It was soft, white musk, almost effeminate, but so fitting really, for someone who's masculinity had graces one would rarely see even in women.

In other words, it was more his aura, which matches that scent—the aura of self-confidence and command he carries with him around like that scar on his left cheek…

I didn't even notice that scar until now.  Maybe the scent really helped make it more…appealing.

And worth paying attention to, even if one should resist.

It made me cringe, however, to realize how much attention I've been paying him lately.  But you can't really blame me can I?  After all, in this job, I'm the one who's supposed to keep a close watch of him, even if I don't like it.  And with this aura overwhelming my senses whenever he's around, I satisfied myself with the thought that being Rei-jin, Himura shouldn't be any less…

"Have you been properly introduced to the group?" a voice asked me, the moment we settled inside the limo, Soujiro strangely insisting that I take the seat next to his.

Himura didn't complain about it, though I have the strangest feeling he was watching my every move.

The jerk!!!  Did he think I'm gonna even try make a pass at his friends?  I may be a maid, but I'm no social climber!!!  Definitely NOT!!!

"Uhh…this is Aoish Shinomori here, the guy who always buries his head in a book," Soujiro smiled, eyes shifting to meet blue, frozen orbs.

"We've met" I told Soujiro, wondering at the guy who, like before, barely even looked at me for three seconds before burying himself into the depths of his Zen preoccupation.

"And this, by the way, is Okita.  He looks a lot like me because we're cousins."

I nodded at the smiling Okita, mentally noting the uncanny similarity in their smile.

"Over there is Saitou, the head of Himura's bodyguard team.  And seated beside him is Kamatari.  _She_'s the head attendant who sees to Himura's schedule, and other personal needs…"

"That was nice, Okita dearest" I heard the man say, her voice light and silky as feather, as she bestowed us a charming, knowingly mysterious smile.

Wait a minute…_she_??!!!  So the guy in the tuxedo is a _she_??!!!

I found myself just ever so slightly jealous.  After all, what right does a guy have to be prettier than half the female population???

"We're here!!!  Gods, I almost thought we'd be stuck in that stupid traffic forever!!!" Himura grumbled loudly, pushing the door open as soon as the limo stopped.

I looked around us and would have earned another smirk from Himura for gaping like mad at the tall building in black glass towering above us, if Soujiro had not interrupted by gallantly offering his arm.

"Will you allow me, Miss Kamiya???"

I nodded my thanks, returning his smile as best I could.

For some strange reason, Himura scowled at him, then ignored us the whole evening.

Not that it was something to complain about, of course.

"Hey Aoish, you never really told us about that blind date I've set up between you and Sayo… Keeps me wondering if it were that BAD or GOOD to start with," Himura laughed, waving a way the waitress who had been passing by our table rather frequently since we got there—asking if she may refill his drink or take a new order.

By the looks of it, she wasn't just being an exemplary worker.  I've noticed that she'd been checking out Himura since we entered the building, making not-so-subtle attempts at brushing his elbow with her chest when leaning forward to take his order, or giving him a full view of whatever's inside that low-necked uniform of hers, when bending down to retrieve a napkin, or refill his drink.

It was nauseating.

Himura must have seen through me, for he followed my eyes and snickered when he saw where exactly I was looking.  Without breaking the conversation, he waved to the waitress who was beside him in seconds, whispering something in her ear.

Soujiro looked at me as I turned away, my face heating.

"Uhhh…Kamiya-san, are you alright?  You look a little flushed…"

"I'm fine, really Sou--," 

My tongue locked just like that.  Right before us, Himura was giving the waitress' butt a generous squeeze.

The pervert, the leech, the—the—unholy little…"

"It wasn't a date to start with, Himura.  It turned out she was allergic to anything that has alcohol, and that was the end of it," Aoish was saying, though I must have lost track of the subject, for it took me more than a minute to figure out what that was about.

Himura crinkled the corners of his lips, making sure that I can see the grin of amusement he was flashing in my direction.

"I didn't tell you to get her drunk.  Though for Takani, that would've worked."

"Obvious how you keep her in strings."

"Yup," he answered cockily, taking a swig of his beer.  "So, what did you end up doing anyway?"

"Nothing I'd like to talk about."

Even Soujiro was obviously taken by that remark—out of curiosity I guess, more than for any other reason.  I mean, coming from someone as coldly calm and calculating as Aoish, a denial like that is a controversy of cosmic proportions.   

"I see," Himura said after ten seconds, watching his friend from beneath shadowed eyes.  He gestured to the waitress once again, prompting me to look away, even if I willed my head to stay and stare like nothing's going on.

They say practice makes perfect.  Maybe if I see him doing that often enough, I'd get used to it.

But how do you teach your mind to ignore something that scares you like hell?

"Oh, not for me, but for the little lady over there, miss."

In my distraction, I didn't notice the waitress filling my glass with a dark brown liquid, until the smell assaulted my senses and I saw his face across the table grinning devilishly at me.

I knew this was a bad beginning.

"So, don't tell me you'd chicken out on a little alcohol???" he told me impishly, chin resting on his left hand as he leaned forward on the table, batting languid violet eyes at me.

Charming… those deep purple eyes looking straight into mine like there was nothing else around us.  I shook my head slightly, trying to quiet the insistent throbbing there that reached all the way to my chest.  

If I had the chance, I would gladly kick his butt all the way to hell for driving me nuts like that…

"Look, Himura, I don't think that's a good—"

"Shut up, Soujiro," he snapped, almost making him jump.  I saw the boy look away as if embarrassed, leaning back into his seat as if to keep his distance both from me and from Himura.

I mustered all my strength to meet his death glare.

"Look.  I'm NOT going to drink any stupid, stinking alcohol, even if you make me Himura.  I'm a maid but my services don't include making an ass of myself just to please your perverted sense of fun."

He continued to stare at me as if I haven't said a single word at all.

"Drink," he repeated, voice calmer this time.

I shook my head.  I'm not gonna let a jerk like him push me around, Rei-jin or not.

"I can't and I won't."

Amethyst turned amber as he slammed his fist hard on the table, knocking off his glass.  It shattered into a hundred shards below us, the sound loud enough to cause some heads to turn in our direction.  

"Drink dammit!!!" 

I would have had an excuse to ignore Himura and turn my attention to the other customers if a male waiter in black tuxedo had not immediately intervened, motioning the scant onlookers to ignore us.  Since we're several tables away and there were very few people really in the same room with us, it would be easy to mistake the noise for nothing much but teenage racket.  I guess that's how the waiter explained it anyway, though for the life of me, I can't figure out why he and the manager would tolerate the fuss this arrogant demon before me was making.

I looked at Aoish for help.  No, he was taking in the entire scene smoothly, like he was watching some Italian opera or something.

Stupid useless rock that one!!!

Again, I shook my head, though I was consciously aware that my refusal was weak, and if he pushed it, I would give in any moment, tears almost stinging my eyes as I trembled, angry for doing so.

"Onegai…"

Even my mouth would not cooperate, saying that, instead of a straight and clear 'no.'

He didn't even blink.

"Do you even care about your job, you little bitch????"

My ears almost drummed at that.  I know I have an attitude but does he have to call me names then fire me for something so trivial and whimsical?  Who is he anyway?

Yeah, a spoiled, selfish brat—and probably the richest—in Japan.  He's also Rei-jin on top of that.  

It was the second consideration that got to me.  Were he an ordinary sesshawaru, I would have simply filed for re-appointment back in Blue Rose College.  But this is not one of those cases.            

My silence probably convinced him that shouting and name-calling won't work miracles for him, so he tried to speak more calmly this time. 

"Look, if you want this job desperately, drink that down and I promise not to piss you off for the entire week, alright?"

What do you do when the choice has already been made for you?

I took the glass and stopping my breath to keep me from vomiting, I drank down the alcohol in two straight gulps.

Actually…that wasn't all THAT bad.

For five seconds at least.  Then my head started spinning and everything turned black.

I could hear voices inside my head, but other than that, I was content to stay in this deep, drunk darkness.  At least here is a safe place where I don't have to see his face, his eyes, and hear that strange throbbing again in my chest when Himura looked at me and told me…  

. . . . . . . . . .      

**Author's thanks:**  I'd like to extend my special gratitude to **Sandy (^_^  hugs too!!!) ,** **Jason M. Lee, **and **chibi-ken14** (Sou) for being there to give helpful comments and support for this fic.  Without you guys, I won't be THAT inspired to write things down, and I hope you do stick around for fun.  **May**, **omochi**, and **no body** also gave a lot of support so--you know who you are guys—thanks a million!!!

This sessha had just spotted an alien intruder and alarmed the Jedi-ronins.

Stray:  Be-deep, be-deep, be-deep deep, deep…

Sandy:  Um…do you know that this is supposed to be a secured area?

Stray:  Bee-bee deep, deep, deep…

Sandy:  If you don't leave, I might be forced to take precautionary measures to ensure that you don't pose risks to the civilians here.

Stray:  Arr-dee, dee, dee, deep…

Sandy:  You asked for it.  Here it comes.  (Brings down his/her light saber-sakaba sword and wounds the intruder on the shoulder ^_^)

Stray:  Weee—zee—zee-deep, deep…deeeeeeep.

Behind him, somebody in a white gi and hakama approaches.

Kenshin:  Good work, deshi.  ^_^  I see that the Ki's getting stronger inside you everyday.

Sandy:  Domo arigatou, sensei!!!        

**NOTE**:  I know, I know, "Jedi-ronin" and "light saber-sakaba sword" don't really sound right.  It must be stress.  I must take some needed sleep before typing my thesis this time.

Thanks Sandy, really!!!  I hope you don't mind.  This is going to be the last of my string of "Stray" jokes, so please don't flame me.  I do consider you as the best, 'friendliest' reviewer I've got, so hope you enjoy this!!!

Ciao!!!        

_        ****_


	5. Double Trouble

Heaven Help Me 

**By Hotaru**

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own RRK,  I don't own anything, so please don't sue.   

**Warning:  **PG still, for language and verbal abuse.  Please don't flame.  Just want some funtorturing K&K.  Also less humor here, and quite some angst.  Just want you guys to know that they've still got character—I mean, there's certainly a lot more to this fic than bickering and verbal abuse—though I sure hope it works here—not very good in keeping this balance (angst + humor = sweat drops) … makes me nervous actually ^_^  

**Also: ** Soooorrryyy for the late update.  I really am very busy right now.  Demo, please enjoy this chapter and thanks to all of you who bothered to read and review my stuff!!!  Comments on your reviews will be found at the end, so please just go on and read.

            Also, I've updated "Depend on You," "Wasurenaide," and put up a new story "Heartbreak Café" but the site is experiencing overload so they're not posted yet.  I really don't know when they'd be posted, but I uploaded the stuff already, sooo please bear with this moron for a little while longer.  If you don't find the other fics, just tell me…

            Or if you're not interested, ummm…never mind!!!!

            Domo arigatou!!!  ^_^

**Chapter 5:  Double Trouble**

**Sesshawaru Kenshin:**

The girl's got it bad.  Who was I to assume that alcohol can do that to her?  I mean, it's not even wine, mind you—just brandy and she falls all over the table like she's been poisoned or something.  Talk about overacting.  Is she trying to play the innocent here?  Did she think guys fall for that trick?  I mean, hey, experience counts and this girl's got ZERO.

            Zero experience.

            Zero charms.

In other words, zero personality.  Geez, ain't she supposed to have even a little of that, in case beauty—read:  breasts, an hour glass figure, and long, silky thighs—is lacking?  Gods, she can really use some breasts to deserve being called a woman.           

But who was I to complain?  It's not that I'm even interested.  I mean, if she were a beauty, I'd probably be more considerate.  But a maid's a maid and she will bow down to me one way or another, perhaps, more often in bed than anything…

Then again, no thanks, I'm not that kind of guy.  Though the attitude helps boost my ego.    

Anyway, as harsh as I can be, I don't think my low opinion managed to spread and contaminate the lowlifes—I mean, even as I speak, those two morons, Soujiro and Okita, are checking her pulse and giving her a quick physical check up we guys are notorious for.  Only this time, the two guys seem serious.  Too serious for comfort actually.  Hell, what do I care if those two simpletons blame me?  Kamiya's MY personal maid, she's legally bound to my person, and that means I'm free to do whatever I want, right?

If anyone finds anything wrong with that, go see my lawyer.  He'll make you understand one way or another.  Oh, I guarantee that.

But guilt sucks.

Like hell.

And if these two don't stop giving me the look, I might as well kill them both.  I can see the headlines now:  Son of a multi-billionaire kills friends and a maid.

No, kill is sooo lame.  Make it "massacres friends and a maid."

Hell, even in my mind, it sounds stupid.  And a little frightening too.  I mean, Soujiro and Okita may not be as filthy rich, or as politically influential as MY clan, but hey, you have to admit that they too have a share of screaming fans who'd probably beat me to a pulp if I even as much as touch a hair from these two.

Stop it.  Touching doesn't go THAAAT far.  And I'm not gay.  I'm even a trifle homophobic.  Go ask a real guy, if you can find one these days, and he'll agree.  Every real guy's homophobic.

If he ain't, he ain't real, and I bet my butt and 700 million yen on that!!!!

Anyway…as I was saying, guilt sucks. But I'd rather settle for guilt than compassion and kindness because they don't mean anything to me—these little virtues invented by self-righteous pricks to make everybody else's ass look BAD.  But whatever it is—guilt, or those goddamn stupid little virtues—I parted Okita and Soujiro—to their, and my surprise—and without another thought, carried the poor critter back into the limo.  I mean don't ask how I even managed to get both of us there, with me wobbling all the way because I was dead drunk myself.  Needless to say, I think I've upset our two darling superheroes who would've burned holes through my sweater staring at my little feat of humanity.

I just wish they'd stop that.  I mean, do they have to make me look SOOO bad?  

Okay, I'm bad, but you don't have to rub it in.          

"Look Himura-san, are you sure about this?  We can take her to a clinic instead, or to a hospital…"

"Jesus" I told Okita—no almost screamed at Okita—because the guy was being so stupid.  "The girl's probably a good actress or you're just a bad critic, but I will not be convinced either way SO" I paused, shaking a finger at him, "will you PLEASE stop all this nag and go home?  I'd take care of things when we get back to the mansion, and she'd probably even thank me for not blowing her act in public.  But hell, even Hiko won't stand to this!!!  I mean, this girl's gonna get it, see if she ain't!!!

"You're gonna fire her?"  Big eyes met mine, and I could have drowned in them—pools of blue-green that reminded me of the sea.  

I shook my head.  "No, not until I get even…"                 

"Himura-san…"

"Okita-SAN…" I told him, grabbing his shoulder for emphasis, even as I smirked in his face.  "You DON'T need to worry alright?   Because there's nothing you can do about it."

His face fell and I walked away, feeling a little more smug about myself.

Power, like sex and booze, can be so intoxicating…  

By the time we arrived at the mansion, Hiko was standing by the big clock at the center of the grand stairway, literally blocking my passage.

I could've pushed him, or kicked his balls were he my size.  But Hiko is, I gotta admit, one hell of a football player.  Big shoulders, broad chest, thighs the size of melons.  Okay, that verbal description also sucks, but hey, that's how I picture the guy.  He's one big lump of muscle you can't just push away like a stupid cow.  If she were my grandmother, I'd be just as scared.

In plain, simple words, Hiko is a tough guy no one EVER pushes around.  Of course, I introduce him around as my uncle—didn't I say that before?  But in plain, simple truth, he's my brother.

My half-brother, actually.  I never got used to the idea, so we settled with "uncle" and "nephew"—that kind of relationship.  Not that it's really crude.  I mean, he's way OLDER and TOUGHER than I am--as the 36 year old ex-captain of the former grand champion of National Football always says, when I feel like hitting things just to get on his nerves.  Actually, I don't want to talk about how he became my half-brother.  The memories just get to me and when they do, I feel so out of control.  Like I want to hit something again.

Correction.  Bloody hit someone--HIM actually, for blocking my way.  Doesn't he know how heavy this girl is?  Yup, I'm still carrying her in my arms, like I'd let anybody else do that.  Again, it's nothing personal.  Just guilt, that's all.

Call it bullshit, but you can't read my thoughts so you might as well take my word for it.

Anyway, there are a million other reasons why'd I want to hit Hiko, but right now, my arms are feeling numb, so those other reasons can wait.

Gods, this girl's killing me.  What is she?  A hundred and fifty?  Even more?  Like she ate nothing the whole night!!!  Her bones must weigh a ton, though…To think that she's almost skinny…     

Still, Hiko didn't move.  Is he waiting me to turn her over?  Like I'd do that in a million years!!!  If there's anything I probably inherited from HIS side of the family it's this mass of raging hormones that I wish I never had, especially in times like this.  Not that I intend to do something about it tonight.

But if the temptation works on me, it might be ten times as powerful for him.  And I don't think Hiko's the guy who'd have trouble forcing his way to a woman.  I mean, with his size…

Hell, he can force a woman the size of a horse!!!  And Kamiya, though loathed as I am with her stupid, brainless stunts, is NOT the kind who'd live through the ordeal.  I mean, the girl's puny.  Almost just my size.

I suddenly wished I was bigger.  The better to box Hiko's head off if he even tries…

"So, got your lay?"

I have to strain my ears to hear that again.  "Pardon me?"

"I said, is that your lay?"

I pretended to have misheard him.  "Yes, the lady's having trouble with wine and if you'd excuse us, I'm going to put her in bed right now."

There.  Ain't this demon charmingly polite? I must be, right next to the Devil himself!!!

"Wait."

I froze as I breezed past him along the staircase, noting the chill in his voice.

"You got the maid that I ordered?"

If there was a hint of mischief or loathing contempt in his voice, he was good at hiding it.  Hiko was the kind of guy who's good at that.  Hell, he's good at anything.  Period.  

Maybe that's the reason why I hate him so much.  Maybe that's the reason why I hate being his brother.  Or nephew.  Gods, just having him in the same room with me makes my blood boil so much I—

"That's probably her, am I correct?"

I ignored him.  As I said before, truth has no use for words.  So I walked past him completely, _wordlessly_, making sure he could hear my feet dragging on the floor with the load I'm carrying.  Heck, I'd be damned if I'd even  complain about THAT.

And as soundlessly as I left him, I closed the door shut behind me.

So much for words.  But then again, I'm never good at words.

Dare I contradict myself?  Because if that's just true, then I'm also the most honest, truthful person around, if you catch the drift of my theory, that is…            

I laid the girl on the bed, _her _bed of course—not that you have to know—and proceeded to stare.

I'm no pervert, mind you, but when I carried her into my arms, I noticed something unsettling about her.

Her skin.

It was so pale, almost transparent, her veins literally showing through the lucid whiteness of her arms and legs.  I'd admit that the legs would have kept me REALLY distracted, but her skin was just so pale I almost worried.

I touched it with just the slightest precaution.  I mean, who'd like to wake up and see some damn pervert touching her like that?  I'm no pervert, but expect girls to jump to conclusions like that.

I'm not even attracted to her.  Just got my attention, that's all.  And it doesn't take much to do that, I guess. 

You ask me why I even bother with this girl then?

Well, maybe because for the first time in my life, somebody stood up to me—somebody not even tall enough to be intimidating—and threw words right back to my face where they hurt.  Sort of.

I should have kept my hands to myself though, because seconds later, her hands were around my neck, strangling the life out or me.

"S—ttt---stoppp it!!!!"  I tore her hands away from me then rolled to my side, pushing myself on top of her until my thighs had effectively pinned her kicking legs to the bed.  

Of course the position would have been more than intimate, if I weren't doing it to keep her from hitting my—you know what—which would really hurt like hell, I know.  

Her eyes flung wide open, and she opened her mouth to scream something.

I can't take my hands off her arms lest she use the moment to slap me senseless.  So I did what you'd probably do, if you're male, and you've got no other available resource or body parts left to keep her from screaming her head off right there in the middle of the night.

In other words, I kissed her.

Just like that.  Not that I never did this sort of thing before.

Hell, she might even like it.

The Devil screw me but for the first time in my life, I can't say she enjoyed it as much as I do…

. . . . . . . . . . . . 

**Angel-rei Kaoru:**

I was having a nice dream really…such a warm dream where I saw myself being carried into the clouds, wisps of cool air brushing my cheeks, making me feel so drowsy and relaxed altogether.

I can't open my eyes just yet.  If this was just a dream, I'd wake up and I'd lose the nice, warm feeling caressing my skin, sending shivers down my spine as the tingling sensation increased, almost tickling me.

Gods, that tickles like hell!!!

Ooopps, did I say hell???  Must be that stupid boy's fault.  Just beside him makes me feel so corrupt, so tainted, I'd be ashamed to call myself an angel if I stay longer.

Can't I just stay in this dream and forget about waking up?  I sure don't want to have to see the brat's face when he laughs his head off for my fainting like that.

I hate fainting.  Even real girls don't faint, so why should I?  I'm an angel after all!!!

It must be that drink.  Hell, it must be his face!

Did I say that stupid word again?  Gods, I wonder how many strikes I got in Rei-Akari's record just saying that…

Maybe two?  Three?  That means two or three more days of detention.  And two or three more days of endurance.

That Kenshin Himura is really gonna get it from me this time!!!  I mean, where does that stupid jerk get off making me drink stupid, filthy stuff like that?  The taste is totally, absolutely yucky!!!  I promise never EVER to get anywhere near him again when he's got that filthy stuff around.

Anyway…why can't I just forget about him?  I'm in this perfectly adorable dream, and I'm shouting unnice things to fools like himself when I could focus on nicer things…

Like that smell…It smells so wonderful…so masculine really, that musk…that lilting scent of pine and musk and something else that's sweet…

W-wait a minute…Musk?  Pine?  The hell it must be—

I opened my eyes and he was so damn close—too close—touching my skin, his fingertip grazing my arm as he peered into my face, watching me sleep.

Well, I'm not THAT out of it, you stupid pervert!!!!

I don't know exactly what got to me, but I grabbed his neck and couldn't let go.

Gods, what am I doing???  He's actually turning blue, and I can't control myself, like my hands had suddenly become obsessed and wouldn't let go!!!  Try as I might, I can't stop it from choking the life out of him, my eyes staring in shock as he coughed, his chest heaving on top of me as I stared, shocked and speechless.

I don't know how hate can be allowed so much control, so much passion…I'm sure I don't really hate him…can't really hate him all that much because I'm scared.

Scared of hurting him, even for the things he'd done…

I wish he'd do something…

I don't know what else I could do when he rolled on top of me, pressing me with his thighs to the bed so I can stop kicking him in places I know would hurt like hell.  I just can't stop myself.

My body seemed to have taken on a different personality altogether.  Not even THIS would pass for a red rule violation.  It's gotta be a CARDINAL violation, you know what I mean?  The kind that gets angels in big trouble.

But I wasn't even thinking about that when the bed shook, his weight totally insufficient to keep me down.  If I don't do anything, I might end up throwing him out of the bed and killing him right there and then.

Kill…

Gods, how can I even think about that?  I must do something.

Anything.

Scream.

That will bring people around.  

Except that it doesn't seem to be a good idea to start with.  Because the moment I opened my mouth, he pressed something warm, and soft, and wet right onto my lips, making me breathless…

Of all the most unthinkable things he could do to an angel, he kissed me.     

And heaven help me, I allowed him to…

. . . . . . . . . . . 

**Sesshawaru Kenshin:                         **

I wonder what would have happened, how it would go if nobody burst into the room at that precise moment, ending our little, all-too-brief episode… 

"Ken-san!!!!"

The voice practically woke the entire neighborhood.  Not that I could blame Megumi.  Why, if I were in her shoes, I'd probably kick the guy's ass and send him on a one-way ticket to hell.

Some things I guess, are meant to be one-sided—like this boy-girl thing called romance.  I don't even believe in such things.  But women do.  Fuck them all, but I guess I'd have something worse to be sorry about if I admitted it to her face.

I don't believe in romance.  And this thing called kiss?

It's just a kiss, for god's sake!!!  Does she have to be upset about that too???  If I'm gonna be angry about her doing mouth to mouth with any other guy, it's not because I'm jealous.

Maybe sort of betrayed, but not jealous.  A man's ego's as big as his heart, after all…if I do have any heart left in me…

I threw that sort of thing away years ago… Can't tell who, or when but let me just say that my heart's been broken once, and the pieces have been thrown to the dogs thereafter…

Suffice it to say, I don't love Megumi.  But do I have to let her know?

Tonight might save me the trouble, though.

"You have the NERVE you BITCH!!!"

Bitch??? Did I hear her right???

I would have cursed her for using the word on me when she marched into the room and slapped Kamiya right there and then, faster than I can say shit!!!

SHIT!!!

I grabbed her hand and pulled her weight off the girl, who was too dumbstruck to even put up a decent struggle when Megumi straddled her, intent on slapping her face off.

"Shit, Megumi, you DO that EVER again, and I might have to break something you don't wanna know!!!"

It was the first time I threatened her or any girl physically, but I was desperate.  Don't ask me why, but seeing Kamiya's eyes like that just drives me crazy.  I don't want to see her being afraid of anything in her life because it doesn't become her.

Or maybe, I just don't like it.  Period.

Shit!!!  Why can't things make sense when I'm around her???  It's almost the same with Hiko…

And for that matter, with Tomoe…

Except that there's a slight difference…

Hiko's a fucking pain in the ass that I don't give a damn about…

And the other's a soul I'd go to hell and back to be with…

Why did I say hell???

Because the self-righteous prick in heaven said so.  People who commit suicide end up in hell, he says.

Damn him, I'd do ANYTHING to be anywhere near Tomoe, even HELL won't be—can't be—THAT bad….

So long as I can be with her…

Gods, that's all I ask…

To be with her…is that TOO much to ask???

Since I can't force the heavens to relent, well, I'd do it my way…

I'd send myself to hell, to be with her.

THAT you can't stop, hah!!!  Just let me see you even try…

Then something hit me.

I must be hurting Megumi so bad because Hiko had to box my ear to get my hands off her.

"You WILL behave, Himura, if it's the last thing you do in MY house!!!!"

I looked at Hiko dazedly, wondering what the guy's being angry about.  Gods, I was just holding Megumi, keeping her from killing Kamiya.  Is that so bad???

Why can't he see anything right in what I do!!!  Now, do you wonder why the guy's always pissing me off??? 

"You better go home, Miss Takani.  I'll take care of things here and would give your parents a call later to apologize.  The hour's not decent and I won't have Senator Takani worrying his head off…"

Wordlessly, Takani left like a scolded child.  I almost pity her.  Hiko seems to have that effect on everybody—save me, of course.

Maybe that's why he hit me again.  And again.

And yet again.

And I was too numb to even care putting up any resistance.

Power works like that.  If you resist, it will crush you.  Obey and it will let you live to fight another day.

And that's my goal.  My sacred promise.  To kick his ass when I get the chance.

But not now.  Not when he wants so much to win this one, so I can go back to my room and he can shout curses behind my back, and remind me that my mother's a bitch.

How else would I be born in this world anyway, with my father's money and yet, my mother's name to remind me of that ugly reality—the reality that all good name fuckers hate.

I'm an illegitimate sonafabitch.

In other words, a lowlife.

Because I was born from a lowlife.

And I'd probably die a lowlife.

Heck, even fungus deserves a better grave than I do.  God at least agrees.  Give it a halo and I'd be the lowliest lowlife in the universe … 

I braced myself, grabbing the bedpost when Hiko swung his arm my way, his eyes glaring like a madman's.

I closed my eyes, expecting the punch to connect.  It was so close, and judging by the length of his swing, the momentum, and the position of his knuckles, he'd deliver a good one that will send me to sleep for good… 

But it didn't came.  At least, I didn't feel it. What I did feel was something crashing towards me, some soft fabric nestling on my chest when I fell to the floor, its weight on my thighs and chest.

I opened my eyes and found Kamiya on my lap, her head thrown back, her arms clutching her chest like it was giving her a hard time.

That was an understatement.  The girl wouldn't cry, but the pain etched on her face told me everything.

Why did she?  Why did she take that punch in the first place?  I mean, didn't she think I can take care of myself?  That I can handle the damn, fucking asshole that Hiko is?  I don't need a girl getting in my way!!!  I don't need this—I don't need this crap—this martyrdom, this stupid, fucking charity!!!!

She moved.

Thank the gods she moved, sapphire orbs meeting mine, her face pale but seeming relieved when she saw me.  Of course, I was not at my devastating best—who could be, after putting up with Hiko's punching for five minutes non-stop???  Her relief must be for the cuts and bruises that I got on my face—wounds that couldn't really kill.  

Then again, it was probably because I was looking down at her face, holding the hand that clutched her ribs, and whispering "Hold on" because that's all I can say to thank someone who's too stupid to get in my way and hurt herself in the process… 

Why can't I be myself when I'm around this girl???

"K-kenshin…"

"Shush…it's alright.  But he won't be when I'm through with him.  He's just crossed the line…"

She pulled me down, wincing at the effort.

I had to sit back the way I did or she'd get hurt.  The slightest movement seems to do that to her, and it scares me.

"St-stop it…Just st—stop it.  It—it's your---yourrr fault anyway, you--you s—stup—stupid j-jerk…"

I can see that the girl can deliver insults pretty well, wounded or not.  Not that I can't do better. 

I opened my mouth to say something but immediately regretted it when I saw her face.

Her lips were cracked, and blood was oozing out of her lips, staining the hand that covered it when her chest heaved in a sudden fit of coughing.   

"Hiko!!!!"  I screamed, but he was a step ahead of me.  As always.

He was already outside the bedroom, alerting the maids and bringing in some first aid kit that seemed like ready to do surgery…

What can you expect?  The mansion is supposed to be self-sufficient.  We even have our own fire truck and ambulance, for godssake!!!!

"Here, let me…" he offered, reaching out to take Kamiya from me.

I pushed myself back, dragging her with me on the floor.  "No, Hiko.  You're not touching her in ANY way from now on, do you hear me???"

He seemed to be miffed, looking away as if the wall had suddenly become more appealing.

"Look…" he trailed, eyes still avoiding mine.  "This is an emergency so cut the little-boy crap and act your age!!!  The girl needs help and you're too lame to budge yourself…"

I struggled to stand up, moving Kamiya ever so slightly by putting her arm around my neck, and the other around my waist.  When she winced and whimpered, I stopped.  Then slowly—gods, this is agonizing—I turned my body around towards her, so I was facing her this time, letting her body fall all over me, her chest cradled against my chest, her head on my neck.

Her breathing was shallow that I can tell.  It was scary—the sound of her breath coming in shallow gasps of air that warned me more urgently than the blood that spilled on my collar when I slowly dipped her head towards the hollow between my neck and shoulder, to keep her rested.

It was the best I could do.  For a lowlife, "best" of course, is far from "good enough" but it will have to do.  For the meantime.

"Call a doctor Hiko… or do you want me to drag the both of us to the phone to do that?  You must know by now that I'm not letting you touch her…" 

I stopped.  She was moving her head slightly, her voice muffled as she tried to say my name.  I patted her head like some mom telling her baby to go back to sleep.   She didn't resist this time, her head falling back on my shoulder, just as I raised my head to face Hiko again.

"…Unless of course, you're not worried about what I might have to tell the police…"

For once, Hiko did exactly what I wanted.

He left wordlessly, asking the maid not only to call but to fetch the family doctor as fast as she can, so that we don't have to bring Kamiya to the hospital.

I can't blame Hiko for that.  I must have scared him too.  Not in the same way that I was scared perhaps.  I mean, he probably thought of all the horribly damaging publicity that this little incident's gonna generate once they find out that the girl has some connection with the Seijuro household…

Seijuro…The name stinks and I'm only too glad I'm not obliged to carry the name and the responsibility that goes with it.

I mean, as an illegitimate heir, I was left a third of the family's assets and finances.  Everything else, including the Seijuro Group of Companies of course, goes to the legitimate heir—no less than Hiko Seijuro himself and whatever brat he'd father someday…

I looked at Kamiya.  She must have fallen asleep, her breathing more shallow but regular this time.

She looked so peaceful, resting her head like that on my shoulder, as if we're just dancing to some slow music with her arm around my waist, held in place by mine…    

As much as I want us to stay like this, my legs are starting to numb, and my chest still hurts from all that senseless beating minutes ago.  Besides, she must be equally tired and uncomfortable, though in her state, it seems more like she's tolerating things to avoid the pain of moving her body to a more comfortable position…   

Well, the bed couldn't be THAT far away, though the pain of moving a single muscle did it's job of making it impossible…

Almost.

I walked ever so slowly, carefully molding her body against mine so her legs could follow my every step with as little effort as possible, making sure that the force of our movements fall on my own weight as we moved.

It was then that I realized that she was not all THAT heavy, really.         

Strange how the senses can deceive.  Maybe if we do this often enough, she may even be beautiful…

Heck, the girl's really nice—uhh—more than nice, maybe even gorgeous—except that girls ought to be cute rather than gorgeous, so I'd say cute.  Alright, I'd cut the crap and say that Kamiya's got looks that can rock your world—read:  do wonders with your hormones.  So maybe I should cut her some slack and give her credit where it's due, you say.  The hell I will, if that ain't so tough for a guy like me!!!  I mean, even lowlifes got ambitions and settling for a maid for a potential girlfriend—err even wife--isn't what you'd exactly call a career move!!!  

Or maybe I just don't want to think about stupid stuff like that because she was pissing me off so much I'd rather stay angry and fight back rather than go mushy and make a fool of myself.

Yeah, right, stupid stuff guys worry about all the time.

. . . . . . . . . . .

**Angel-rei Kaoru:   **

I didn't know how long I've been sleeping, but the pain had mellowed, and I can breath normally again.

I guess sometimes things like that should happen to make me appreciate human life a little bit more.  Like breathing.

I didn't know how learning to breath again can be so important to this short mortal existence that I have to put up with, ever since I agreed to go to earth and join the mission to find Rei-jin before the gods below do…

Rei-jin…who is he…why should he be so trapped in such an insignificant creature in this planet so the gods above and below can play with his destiny and make him slave to their bidding…

I know little of Rei-jin's own history, but suffice it to say that he's legendary—not because he's some minor god himself—but one myth says that in order to keep the gods from fighting over who should rule the Universe of Creation, there must be an intermediary—someone to keep the balance, watch over things, make sure that good and evil continue to counterbalance each other, neither one dominating the other completely…

Of course, you humans call it good and evil, but it's just your bias that makes things sound so different—as if the difference even matters…

Good is just one aspect of existence, as evil is another.  Both can survive being what it is, but survival makes existence so unnecessarily boring.

There must be at least some challenge—something the gods can learn from, something to give them ideas about the whole idea of perfection, and how perfection is never reached but always suspended between this reality and the next.

To put it simply, humans can never be perfect—as anything can never be in this universe—because once perfection is reached, there is no sense for anything to exist anymore.  

Well, except for the gods themselves sitting in their quiet little havens and trying to destroy one another occasionally for lack of anything better to do.

Not that angels are ungrateful for all the attention we get—especially from all of you "believers" out there.

It's just that the universe of the gods don't work that way. And I hate to be the one to let the secret out.  It's not like we're even discouraged from doing that.  I mean, who'd like to talk about things like that when nothing can be said or done that can change things that have been going on for several eternities???

That is what the gods used to believe.  Until Rei-jin came.

I wouldn't risk my own destiny for this Kenshin Himura if I didn't believe he can change what neither humans nor gods wanted to change—or could even change—given that no one exactly knows how THAT can even happen… 

Two souls, one body.  One soul given by the lower gods, another by the higher gods.  Through the eons and centuries, the two souls meant to be kept separate had transformed—mutated so to speak--so that now, the gods practically fear what the soul can or may do, given that such inextricable integration can only lead to very unpredictable outcomes.  I think what really upsets them is the fact that this "new  soul" violates the whole grand idea of an intermediary that supposedly exists only to protect their interests. 

I think the logic is quite plain to see.  What would you do if you looked at a mirror only to find one day that you don't recognize your own reflection?  Won't you find that absurd,  if not downright scary???

I mean this "new soul" can be ANYTHING---can DO just about ANYTHING because as the rules of creation goes, only those whose existence has been determined by the gods from the very beginning of time can be directly controlled by Destiny itself.

And Rei-jin just didn't quite fit into the rule.  Although his existence had been determined by the gods since the beginning of time—time being measured in cycles, remember?—he had also changed so significantly to be the same entity that had originally been created by the gods…

Oh, this is just getting to be even more complicated.  Rei-jin is the ONLY entity in this universe who had created himself…partially, or mostly at least…through the cycles of reincarnation he had undergone through time…

Imagine this…

In his previous reincarnation, Rei-jin was Himura Kenshin who lived as Battousai, an assassin who killed in the name of justice.  The irony of it may not be so earth-shaking given that so many humans no less ordinary had found themselves toeing that thin line between good and evil.  Except that, in Battousai's case, there's just the slightest difference…

He had to be in the right time and place to trigger a chain of events that led to chaos and peace and then back to chaos…

In other words, while human actions were hardly motivated by anything but the moment of conviction, Battousai's success had to do more with Destiny bending to his will, compelling forces to work in his favor and unleash both the best and the worst in human history…

 Kenshin Himura…Sometimes I wonder why I have to be the one to find you really… They told me that I must bring your other soul back…unleash it by any means possible, so that your "new soul" can revert back to the once "divided soul" and regain the balance that we seem to be losing… 

And the higher gods suspect that maybe, if we don't split that soul of yours, you may turn into a monster and put an end to us all…

The lower gods I believe, have other plans, which I guess, border on annihilation.  I mean, if they can corrupt this "new soul" of yours and teach you the raw power that lies dormant in your being at this stage of existence, they'd gain the upper hand.

And that is a danger to us all in the High Heavens…

Power corrupts, you humans say.  I agree.  The mere discovery of your "new" identity and the unpredictable power that goes with it is enough to make both the higher and lower gods to hound you to the grave…

Not that the lower gods may have any use for you dead…In fact, they won't want you dead because that will mean having to wait another one hundred and fifty years to set up their plan.

And that means spending more years finding you, as if that was easy.  Not only did you blind the eyes of Destiny, but you also forced Gaiea to give endless birth to your unlimited potential.

That means that nobody can stop you from being reborn in this universe.  And that also means that the longer you stay this way—as a "new soul"—the more you put all of us in danger.

At least that's the only valid reason I'd accept behind the sudden need to rush to earth, inexperienced as most of us young angels are, at the time we've been alarmed of your undeniable presence…                      

I think now is the time to wake up and face the harsh truth.  That you Kenshin Himura is, indeed Rei-jin.  That hate you as I do, as I must, I cannot change that plain and simple fact.

When you kissed me though, the whole world around which my thoughts of you revolved, following that one single afternoon of intense hate, seemed to have split and divided, swallowing us both…

How I wish it was your soul instead, which had split and divided in that single moment that could never be undone, hard as I imagine that it never happened…

Do you know the consequences of what you've done???

You have completely put me under your power, Kenshin Himura…

And it has nothing to do with the power of the will—my will surrendering to you voluntarily.

In the human world, romance is built around such things—one's will given up in the name of that thing you call love.

But though I understand human feelings, I'm not allowed to share them.  Which is why this thing called love is impossible.  It doesn't even exist in angel tongue—and must be translated several ways to describe the different ways you humans can express that elusive feeling.

No.  The kiss did something more permanent than love ever can.

You have just forced me to follow you, as a slave does his master to the grave, to serve him even in the afterlife.

It seemed that simple, but complicated things always are.  That's the paradox.

When I allowed you to kiss me, I have signed our agreement.  I have bound myself to an agreement you didn't even have to write down to become legal and binding.

Unlike in the human world, rules in MY world are governed and kept by forces beyond all of us—beyond even the gods themselves…

It had to be that way to keep the gods from changing the rules themselves…

So tell me, Kenshin Himura…

How can I serve thee without breaking my vows???

Without forgetting that I must control you just as you must control me???

How can I draw out your other soul, without you asking me to step aside to allow you to be as you are?

Only one answer to that.

You must never know who you really are, who I really am, and what binds us really to each other in this mortal world.

And to do that, I must never let you so close, so close like this ever again.

If need be let us hate each other.

Because that will drive us apart.  And that means you will never want to know more about me, as I, about you…

And ignorance will keep us safe…

Safe from each other…

Safe from knowing what could destroy us both…   

. . . . . . . . . . . 

**Author's Comments:**  My thanks to the following people who had always been sooo supportive:    Don't worry, I won't complain EVER about having to write you guys, I'm just so happy that someone's reading my fic that's all…One or two doesn't matter, because I really love what I'm doing.

It stinks???  Weeellll, I guess my skill (not talent, mind you.  I reserve that for _real_ writers) is FAARRR from perfect, but hey, I can always try, can't I?

Yup, I'm getting on it!!!  Here are my comments, finally!!!  And thanks guys, for going this far with me…Domo arigatou!!!! ^_^

Names in random order:

**Ariela: ** Yeah, I agree!!!  Poor kaoru, she has to put up with Kenshin some more, he he he… and now not just as an angel but as his literally slave!!!  Welll, you ask how different that's gonna be?  I'll try to think of something, don't worry…

**umpaureus: ** Ha ha ha, who are you kidding old guy!!!  Like I don't know WHO you really are!!!  This fic being an OAV is just plain silly!!!  I mean, Sony won't even notice—I may even have to pay them millions to just read this stuff…But I appreciate your faith in me.  Don't call this a classic though.  There are a lot of other fics out there which are waaayyy betteeerrr than mine, go figure!!!  But thanks a million for the compliment…It makes me smile…^_^

**marstanuki:**  I'm taking your advice and won't let that Stray get to me again… Thanks for the support, I need it badly, and I'm writing this for fun, thank God!!!  Please don't tire reading my stuff.  And thanks really!!!  I'm so glad you read my stuff even though it's not really much.  ^_^

**Chiruken:**  Thanks if you think I write great!!!  It's big hearing it from you, and I really appreciate all the support.  I'll take care of myself, don't worry, and the pressure's manageable—I hope it will be until next week!!!  Thanks ^_^

**Jason M. Lee:**  Yup, I'm embarrassed spelling Aoshi like that!!!  Geez, more tomatoes my way???  Can't I have something else, like uhhh…no, not PIE, definitely not THAT…I'll revise soon…the network's just having problems again, or is it my computer?  Anyway, I'm glad you like the Saitou's and Kamatari's roles here.  I'll try to develop that angle a bit more, so expect a lot more…^_^

**Moonwind: **  One of my great works?  Thanks really, you are just so generous!!!  Please review this new chapter and tell me if it's okay.  I really want to know what you think!!!^_^

**Shojin Takaru:**  Cool story?  Thanks!!!  I'll update this very soon when I find the time.  And I'll write that e-mail to let you know.  Thanks again!!!

**Sandy:**  Hope you're not disappointed in this one.  There's less humor here and a lot of the guys have been pushed to the sidelines, to give Hiko and Kenshin some space.  Please tell me what you think!!! ^_^And thanks for all the help and support!!!  I really love you guys!!!

**omochi:**  Yup Kenshin's perverted.  But I like to put some plausibility in it too—like he must be twisted for a reason—not so grand a reason though, since I can't manage that kind of thing so well yet—but maybe something to add to the intrigue…Keep on reading and thanks!!!

**ewunia: **Why limit Kaoru's power???She's really about to do a lot of work in the upcoming chapters so I  thought that taking things a bit slow might let her do some bit of explaining before the action starts—well,  plus the fact that she's not yet used to her human existence—some changes in her body didn't adjust too well to the new lifestyle and environment—but a lot of that later, in the next chappie maybe…Thanks for asking, I do tend to assume things like that.  Please read morea nd tell me what you think!!! Thanks again ^_^

**meow: ** Have Kaoru drown Kenshin in her imagination?  Ummm…why not for real??? (Author rolls on the ground laughing, then hits her head on a rock and dies..) Just kidding!!!  Don't worry, I'll think of something like that!!! Please read and review this one and give me some more suggestions.  Don't be too disappointed if there's less humor here.  More in later chappies, don't worry!!!  ^_^

**May:**  Uhh the slight shift in my writing is actually intended.  I know it doesn't really mean I'm improving, but I just wanted to shift gears once in a while—to keep me from lulling myself to sleep when I write—hah, I do get bored with my own writing sometimes…Please read and review this one too and thanks for giving this slow writer something to look forward to, thanks!!!

**chibi-ken 14:**  SOOO glad you reviewed this one!!!  Please tell me if it's okay.  And thanks for saying something about my depression.  The advice really helped!!!!  Thanks, thanks, thanks…you're really great, and I promise to update this one soon!!!  ^_^         

  

**DOMO  ARIGATOU  MINNA-SAN!!!    Until next week!!!!   ^_^**

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